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The SEJ WatchDog

The WatchDog TipSheet is a monthly source of story ideas, articles, updates, events and other information with a focus on freedom-of-information issues of concern to environmental journalists in both the United States and Canada.

While there are plenty of EPA databases already on line, not all of them are in a form that can be quickly downloaded in their entirety and imported into standard database software. That's a key criterion specified, and one that will ease computer-assisted reporting for journalists.

December 2, 2009

Non-profit media, online media, freelancers, student journalists, and even some mainstream media are having trouble getting credentials to cover the climate treaty talks in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18, 2009. While one root of the problem may be capacity of the building, a key issue is whether non-profits, bloggers, and freelancers are truly legitimate media.

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and OMB Watch want the federal government to tighten the accountability of federal contractors by fixing problems with the database — a potentially valuable tool for environmental reporters.

As USA TODAY exposes a culture of secrecy at FDA that caused schoolkids in several states to get sick because the FDA hid information about tainted tortillas, SEJ and other journalism groups insist FDA ends restrictions on staff interviews with press.

November 4, 2009

The U.S. Department of Energy scrambles to delay a report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board about a significant threat of radiation release from Los Alamos National Laboratory, a citizen watchdog group discovered.